Putting on his coat, he walked over to the flower woman's table. " Happy Christmas! " he said, smiling, and picking out two corsages, " How much are they? " " Two francs, monsieur."
There has long been a superstition among mariners that porpoises will save drowning men by pushing them to the surface, or protect them from sharks by surrounding them in defensive formation.
Studies on everyone from seafarers on container ships to welders in Nigeria might be able to help us, although given how important sleep is to us it's surprising how few large-scale studies have been conducted.
The US Defense Secretary made clear that the almost daily Houthi attacks on shipping are a truly global concern from the potential loss of seafarers' lives to serious supply chain and cost implications.
The power of the British Empire meant that it became played in every corner of the world, as sailors and soldiers would teach and then play local teams in every port they visited.
The miserable evening in a dull restaurant ended up being the very best Christmas Eve we had ever experienced just because of a young sailor who had Christmas spirit in his soul.